Soft phonons reveal the nematic correlation length in Ba(Fe${}_{0.94}$Co${}_{0.06}$)${}_2$As${}_2$

Abstract

Nematicity is ubiquitous in electronic phases of high-$T_c$ superconductors, particularly in the Fe-based systems. While several experiments have probed nematic fluctuations, they have been restricted to uniform or momentum averaged fluctuations. Here, we investigate the behavior of finite-momentum nematic fluctuations by utilizing the anomalous softening of acoustic phonon modes in optimally doped Ba(Fe${}_{0.94}$Co${}_{0.06}$)${}_2$As${}_2$. We determine the nematic correlation length and find that it sharply changes its $T$-dependence at $T_c$, revealing a strong connection between nematicity and superconductivity.